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General Colin Powell: A Life Well Lived
His work and Legacy
General Colin Powell , born in Harlem, New York, to Jamaican immigrants, in a certain way, achieved what no other African American was able to achieve in America, primarily because systemic racism prevented them from achieving more. On October 18, 2021 Powell made his transition from mortality to immorality. He was 84.
Before Powell became a General there were two other African Americans who became Generals in the military. They are: General Benjamin O. Davis Sr, the first African American to be commissioned a (one-star) brigadier General in a segregated Army in 1940. He commanded African American soldiers. A generation after his father, fourteen years later, in 1954, in an integrated military, his son, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., became a (one-star) brigadier General, the first African American General to serve in the Air Force. He rose to the rank of a (three-star) lieutenant General in 1965.
Some four months after this writer, Uriah J. Fields, enlisted in the Army, on July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981 calling for desegregation of the Armed Forces. He repudiated 170 years of sanctioned officially discrimination. It was two years after that Executive Order was issued when I was assigned to a desegregated unit in the Army, even though I was a Chaplain's Assistant. General Benjamin O. Davis Jr., and General Powell served in an integrated military that provided them with opportunities to participate and achieve based on their abilities and potentials.
General Colin Powell was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1958, a (one-star) brigadier General in 1976, and a (four-star) major General prior to his retirement. He served 35 years in the Army. Ten African Americans have attained the rank of General, including one female. Powell became the first African American to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and U.S. Secretary of State.
Retired General Colin Powell in April of 1997 was the chief founder and chairman of America's Promise Alliance (APA). "Recognizing that every young person deserves to succeed and every adult is responsible for making that happen," APA's five promises to accomplish the aforementioned goals are: (1) Caring Adults, (2) Opportunities to Serve, (3) A Healthy Start, (4) Safe Places, and (5) Effective Education. In 2000 Colin Powell's wife Alma Powell succeeded him as Chair of ADA. Like myself, she is a native of Alabama.
Colin Powell: A Life Sell Lived. Enjoy eternally higher compesations you now have that the world you served so admirably could not give you.
My heartfelt condolences I extend to you Alma, your and Colin's grandchildren. What beautiful memories you and so many others have of Colin Powell to treasure. May the God of peace give you peace as you and so many others celebrate the memories of Powell who left a legacy par excellence for humankind.
Uriah J. Fields
Copyright 2021 by Uriah J. Fields
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As Powell courageously admitted in an interview on national television, he followed the chain of command when he went before the United Nations and passed on the misinformation that was given to him by Vice President Cheney that was rumor and not proven, leading to a war that killed thousands of American soldiers, at least a million Iraqis and empowered Al Qaeda and ISIS to grow and prosper during that ill-fated war.
Ron